Trump: Nothing will happen until Putin and I meet

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump stated that "nothing will happen" regarding peace talks between Russia and Ukraine until he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Talks between Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to be held in Istanbul, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Turkey and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Nothing will happen until Putin and I meet, okay? It's obvious – he didn't intend to come. He wanted to come, but he thought I would go. He didn't want to come if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything will happen, whether you like it or not, until the two of us meet. But we will have to resolve this because too many people are dying," Trump told reporters on Air Force One, upon arrival in Abu Dhabi.

Trump added that he was not disappointed that Putin was not in the delegation that arrived in Turkey on Thursday for high-level talks with Ukraine: "I'm not disappointed by anything. Why would I be? We just made 4 trillion dollars, and you're disappointed about a delegation? I don't know anything about the delegation, I haven't even checked."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously said that he would not meet with anyone from the Russian delegation except Putin, and called the people who arrived in Istanbul "liars".

Although the US administration had previously stated that there were no planned trips to Turkey, Trump stated on Thursday that the possibility remains open. "If something happens, I will go on Friday, if it is appropriate," he said during a business roundtable in Doha.